I’m Gonna Teach English in Korea!

So, I don’t know if this is a secret or not, but I’ve been having a tough time of it ever since graduating last May. I think it was just the lack of knowing what was next. My whole life I’ve known what the next step was–elementary school, middle school, high school, college–but what about after college? I had bills to pay, so I got a mediocre retail job, but I was reluctant to commit to anything more involved. I didn’t want to be tied down when I wasn’t sure what I was doing, and I didn’t have any money to go elsewhere. It felt very claustrophobic, to be honest.

I spent a year drifting. Sometimes that was OK, but more often than not I just felt lost. Like my life was in a holding-pattern; a plane that couldn’t land but didn’t know where to fly next.

And then a chance conversation with a co-worker led me to the perfect answer. As I might have mentioned, I’ve been pretty obsessed with Korean dramas lately. I watch them all the time. I mentioned this to someone at work, who I knew had spent some time teaching in Japan. I was talking about how confused I felt, since I didn’t want to keep working there but wasn’t sure what else I could do. “Why don’t you teach English in Korea?” she asked. “Well, I can’t speak Korean. I couldn’t do that… could I?”

The last time I saw one of these in person, I was taking TaeKwonDo lessons. Hai-yahh!

It turns out I totally can do that. For some reason the thought had never occurred to me–I didn’t realize that was something that could be done. But it is, a lot of people do it, and it’s very popular at the moment–Asian countries are very eager to have native English-speakers come and teach. And they don’t care if you know the language or not! Jackpot.

As the very beginning of this blog would probably tell you, I LOVE to travel. I hate being tied down in the same place. Unfortunately, that usually requires money–something I don’t really have in abundance. This would be a great opportunity to see someplace new while also getting paid. What more can you ask for? I’ve done a lot of research into the idea so far, and it seems pretty legit. However, I’m in the middle of switching jobs, and I also have to take a course on teaching English as a second language, so I won’t be going anytime soon–probably next February-March at the earliest. Nonetheless, I feel like I have a purpose again. I know what the next step is. I know where I’m flying. And I’m pretty darn excited.

In the meantime, I’ve started studying some Korean, because whether or not they require it, I would still feel better living in a foreign-speaking country for a year if I already knew at least the basics. I’m already studying harder than I ever did in school–I think I’ve been away long enough to miss it, ha ha. Go figure!

I love this website! It’s been soooo useful. 🙂

So, while this is still quite some time away, I just wanted to let you know what was up with me. This adrift feeling is part of the reason why I’ve been so apathetic and unproductive lately, so I apologize. Unfortunately, artistic endeavors aren’t things you can really do on autopilot, like some jobs–you need to be present mentally, which I’m not a lot of the time. (Ha ha.) But now that I feel less lost, I’m hoping that it will be reflected in my output. (Fingers crossed!)

And don’t worry–even if I am in Korea, I still plan to work on my writing projects. I’m going to try to get back into editing and re-working, so that barring any unforeseen problems, I could theoretically release The Life of Gaia at Christmastime. Wouldn’t that be sweet? But we’ll see how it goes!

9 thoughts on “I’m Gonna Teach English in Korea!”

That is awesome! Wow. I’ve heard of people doing those programs and they always come back saying it was an amazing experience. I always think it’s fantastic when people are open to completely immersing themselves in another culture. It’s like the ultimate sign of being a cool adult and one that I’m sure will work its way into your writing.
I look forward to vicariously experiencing Korean culture through you and your blog. Congrats on having a direction!

That is definitely what I have heard. Although I am a little nervous to live so far away for so long, I feel like I have a lot of time to mentally prepare, and it will be a grand adventure. 🙂 And LOL! I should have you sign something saying you thought I was ‘cool adult-like’, lol! x) But thank you!! I will definitely blog all about it, ha ha.

=DD I plan to do more posts leading up, but if you’re into K-Pop, Eat Your Kimchi on Youtube have a really fun channel where they talk about life in Korea. A lot of their videos are K-Pop related, though, so it might be worth checking out if you’re bored. ^^ I hope things go well too! Although I have to wait so long, I just had to share now, because I’m excited. xD

I am SO psyched by this decision! You’re going to have a blast 😀 I would personally suggest looking for a teaching position somewhere in the vicinity of Seoul, as there’s a ton to do there and even if you’re like an hour outside the city, you can just take the train in on the weekends. Woo! I may enlist you to send me some Korean socks once you get there, because they have really awesome socks there, and I want more, lol.

I’m counting on it!! And yeah. I mean, they pay better if you’re out in the middle of nowhere, but at least for the first year (assuming that year goes well!) I figure I should probably be in Seoul. That way there’s more English and more foreigners, and more… stuff, I guess, in general. x) Then maybe, if I stay, I could move to a rural area. And I think I could probably manage to get you some socks. xD I’m glad YOU fit the clothes in Korea! I will, sadly, probably not be able to buy anything, ha ha. Not that I need clothes!

Well, you don’t have to be IN Seoul. There’s plenty of smaller cities to the south that are great. I was in Pyeongtaek (look it up!). Because there’s a really great train system, so if you can’t find something inside Seoul itself, you can always train in on the weekends. But it would be really cool to actually be in Seoul — I’d be so jealous! And yay socks 😀 Um … yeah, finding clothes is definitely hard. There are foreigner sections in the city, though, with stores that carry clothes our size, so it’s not a total wash.

Oh, that’s good to know!…And also bad, because I am a shopping addict. </3
And LOL, I'm going to buy you only socks with K-Pop idol faces on them. xDD
I will look it up indeed!! I'm seriously so impatient. I know it's a good idea I decided to wait until next year, but dang. Oh, also, I just finished watching Secret Garden. It's another winner. 😉 Joo Won's shiny track suit is hilarious.